Lebron carries Cavaliers past Pacers in Game 7
Lebron James scored 45 points and got some needed help in Game 7 to stay unbeaten in the opening round of the NBA playoffs, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 105-101 win over the Indiana Pacers, who pushed the game’s best player to the limit.
James improved to 13-0 in the first round and kept Cleveland’s strange season alive - for the time being. It took everything James and the Cavs had to hold off the Pacers, who were swept by Cleveland a year ago and came in confident after a 34-point win in Game 6.
The Cavs will open the conference semifinals on Tuesday at top-seeded Toronto. James played 43 minutes, leaving late in the third quarter and heading straight to the locker room to be treated for cramps.
The 33-yearold was going to leave it all on the floor in what some Cleveland fans feared could have been his last game with the franchise.
Tristan Thompson made a rare start for the Cavs — Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue used his 34th different starting lineup this season — and added 15 points and 10 rebounds. Kevin James Love made four 3-pointers, and George Hill returned after missing three games with back spasms to score 11 in 19 secondhalf minutes.
Victor Oladipo scored 30 and Darren Collison had 23 for the Pacers, who were still within four points in the final minute before a cutting James scored on a bullet pass from Kyle Korver with 30 seconds left.
Oladipo hit a 3 at the horn and was immediately embraced by James, who had never played a Game 7 in the first round and wasn’t about to let Indiana end his run toward an eighth straight Finals.
It was the first Game 7 in Quicken Loans Arena history, and Cleveland fans were on edge from the start.
On a day when the Blue Jays bullpen needed a break, J.A. Happ tossed seven innings, allowing just two earned runs as Toronto snapped a four game skid with a 7-2 win over the Texas Rangers.
Yangervis Solarte, Teoscar Hernandez and Kevin Pillar each hit solo home runs as the Blue Jays avoided a sweep at the hands of the Rangers.
“I take pride in that and trying to do that over the last couple years,” said Happ on giving the bullpen a day off. “You’re definitely aware of kind of where we’re at with the bullpen — a little bit thin there, but just trying to go out, obviously you want quick outs whenever you can, but you can’t really change the gameplay too much to accommodate for that.”
Happ (4-1) surrendered five hits while striking out nine. The left-hander now has back-toback starts with nine-plus strikeouts and no walks - the only other Blue Jays pitcher to accomplish that feat was Roger Clemens.
“I’m just trying to change speeds when I need to and trying not to let them see the same pitch too many times in a row, trying to change it up on them,” said Happ. “I think me being aggressive, getting strike one is usually a good thing for me.”